RHB | Malaysia | Current Account Surplus Narrowed In The 2Q, 18 Aug 2014

Economic Research	18 August 2014
Malaysia
Economic Highlights
Current Account Surplus Narrowed In The 2Q The current account surplus in the balance of payments dropped by 19.3% to MYR16.0bn in the 2Q, following an increase to MYR19.8bn in the 1Q and compared with a surplus of MYR14.8bn in the 4Q.  This was due to a smaller surplus in the merchandise trade account, as well as a bigger deficit in the services and income accounts during the quarter. These were, however, mitigated by a smaller deficit in the transfer account. The financial account, on the other hand, recorded a smaller outflow of MYR11.8bn in the 2Q, compared with an outflow of MYR37.6bn in the previous quarter. As a whole, we expect the current account surplus of the balance of payments to widen to MYR58.0bn or 5.8% of GNI in 2014, compared with a surplus of RM39.9bn or 4.2% of GNI in 2013. Economist:  Peck Boon Soon  | +603 9280 2163 Economist:  Shafizal Shafaai  | +603 9280 2179